054: Divorce & Remarriage pt 2: The OT Teaching on Divorce pt 1

This is part 1 of 2 parts addressing the OT teaching regarding divorce. I cover Gen 21:9-12, Ex 21:7-11, Dt 22:13-19,28-29, and Dt 24:1-4. Most of my time is dedicated to an examination of Dt 24 given the central role this passage played in Jewish debates regarding divorce, including the debate Jesus had with the Pharisees.

In Gen 21, God commanded Abraham to divorce Hagar. Since God can't command evil, clearly not all divorce is morally wrong. 

In Ex 21, divorce was required when a polygamous husband deprived his first wife of her basic necessities.

Dt 22 prohibits divorce in special circumstances, implying that it was allowed in all others.

The case law in Dt 24 involves divorce, but is not about divorce per se. It's about prohibiting past spouses from remarrying after an intervening marriage. Nevertheless, this passage does not condemn either husband for divorcing their wife. It also demonstrates that from God's perspective, the first divorce truly ended the first marriage. The woman was not deemed an adulteress, and she was prohibited from remarrying her first husband. Such a prohibition only makes sense if her first husband is no longer her husband. 

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